Expedition leader Felicity Aston and her colleagues used a selection of Berghaus women’s products, when they set out to ski the last degree to the North Pole. Meanwhile, the product feedback that they gave directly to our team in Svalbard will help us as we continue to expand and improve our range of women’s specific products.

The Expedition Update:

8 days after starting out on their expedition the mainly novice team of females have arrived on top at the world at the North Pole. The team have travelled just over 80 km on the moving pack ice of the Arctic Ocean. They have faced freezing temperatures, open leads of water in the sea ice, as well as the constant threat of polar bears.

The team departed the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard in the early hours of 15th April. From there they flew to the floating ice station known as ‘Barneo’ and started their ski journey across the Arctic pack ice to the North Pole. Preparations for the expedition have been ongoing for nearly two years including training expeditions in Iceland and Oman.

Led by Felicity Aston, MBE the Euro-Arabian team has an experienced polar guide. In 2012 Aston became the first person in the world to ski across Antarctica alone and without the aid of kites, machines or dogs – a journey of 1744km that took her 59 days to complete.

Aston said about the trip “The world is facing global problems – such as climate change – that can only be tackled with global solutions. We want to send a strong and positive message about gender equality and the need for greater cultural understanding when tackling large problems.”

After a particularly gruelling last leg of the trip the team arrived at the North Pole in good spirits.

The team are participating in two important science experiments during the expedition looking at the effect of the extreme environment on their bodies and on their minds.

The novice team has worked hard to reach the top of the world.

Aston commented “The team have endured the extreme environment and restricted living spaces with great humour and tremendous sense of adventure. They have held on tightly to their reasons for making this trip and each team member has been critical to the success of the expedition.”